Automating enablement state inputs to workflows in z/osmf

ABSTRACT

Methods, computer program products, and systems are presented. The methods include, for instance: automatically discovering enablement state variables respectively corresponding to products present in a computer system; processing the enablement state variables and associated values and making a separate file for disabled products; and make available the file for disabled products as inputs to subsequent system administration jobs.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOIN INVENTOR

The following disclosure is submitted under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)(A): TheManipulation of a Step's Status in z/OSMF Work-flows Through VariablePassing, Keith Miller, Jun. 21, 2015, 9 pages

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to mainframe job control, and moreparticularly to methods, computer program products, and systems forefficiently performing system administration tasks for a mainframecomputer in the context of installation, configuration, and migration ofthe mainframe computer by use of tools provided in the mainframecomputer.

BACKGROUND

As mainframe computers have numerous program components that could bepurchased from a wide variety of products, tools, and/or subsystems, acomposition of such optional elements of an individual mainframecomputer can be extremely diverse from one mainframe to the next.Accordingly, system administration tasks that must be performed duringinstallation, configuration, and migration of the individual mainframecomputer become time-consuming and inefficient for a systemadministrator to find out the composition of the optional elements forthe individual mainframe computer

SUMMARY

The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome, and additionaladvantages are provided, through the provision, in one aspect, of amethod. The method for automating enablement state inputs to workflowsincludes, for example: automatically discovering, by one or moreprocessor of a computer, respective values for one or more enablementstate variable respectively corresponding to one or more productinstalled in the computer, wherein a value of a enablement statevariable from the one or more enablement state variable indicateswhether a product corresponding to the enablement state variable isenabled in the computer; loading, by the one or more processor, the oneor more enablement state variable and the discovered respective valuesof the one or more enablement state variable to a first list; parsing,by the one or more processor, the loaded first list for each of the oneor more enablement state variable and the discovered respective values;recording, by the one or more processor, to a second list, a firstenablement state variable and a value corresponding to the firstenablement state variable in the first list based on ascertaining that afirst product corresponding to the first enablement state variable isdisabled in the computer; and writing, by the one or more processor, thesecond list to an output file such that respective enablement statecorresponding to one or more disabled product represented in the outputfile may be automatically provided to subsequent system administrationjobs by user of respective enablement state variable corresponding tothe one or more disabled product.

Additional features are realized through the techniques set forthherein. Other embodiments and aspects, including but not limited tocomputer program product and system, are described in detail herein andare considered a part of the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more aspects of the present invention are particularly pointedout and distinctly claimed as examples in the claims at the conclusionof the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, andadvantages of the invention are apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 depicts a system diagram for a generic system administrationenvironment for a target mainframe system, in accordance with one ormore embodiments set forth herein;

FIG. 2 a system diagram for a z/OS system administration environment foran IBM z System mainframe, in accordance with one or more embodimentsset forth herein;

FIG. 3 depicts a result of a system command “D PROD” as provided by thez/OS mainframe 230, in accordance with one or more embodiments set forthherein;

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart performed by the Workflows Task 233 of FIG. 2for managing workflow input variables for efficient systemadministration, in accordance with one or more embodiments set forthherein;

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of block 320, Discovery Step 0, of theWorkflows Task of FIG. 4, in accordance with one or more embodiments setforth herein;

FIG. 6 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 8 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a system diagram for a generic system administrationenvironment 100 for mainframe systems, in accordance with one or moreembodiments set forth herein.

The generic system administration environment 100 includes a user 110, auser interface (UI) 120, an administration tool 130, and a targetmainframe system 140. The user 110 is a system administrator whoperforms system administration tasks of installation, configuration, andmigration for the target mainframe system 140. The user 110 has a properauthentication to alter system parameters and configurations and toread/write system files of the target mainframe system 140 via the userinterface 120 and the administration tool 130.

The administration tool 130 includes a user interface interpreter 131and a target system interface 132. The user interface interpreter 131takes inputs from the user interface 120 and converts the inputs for thetarget mainframe system 140, by changing formats for commands and datafrom the formats of the UI 120 to the formats corresponding to thetarget mainframe system 140. The target system interface 132 obtains thecommands and data suitable for the target mainframe system 140 andmanages system administration tasks, executes system programs on thetarget mainframe system 140, and accesses system data according to theobtained commands and data.

The target mainframe system 140 includes an operating system 150, a filesystem 160, and may include one or more program component 170. Theoperating system 150 manages internal workings of the target mainframesystem 140. The operating system 150 includes a process manager 153 anda program component catalog 154. The process manager 153 managesscheduling and execution of processes in the target mainframe system140. The program component catalog 154 keeps record of the one or moreprogram components 170 that are installed in the target mainframe system140. Examples of the program component catalog 154 may be, a parameterlibrary of z/OS® operating system, Registry of Windows® operatingsystem, etc. (z/OS is a registered trademark of International BusinessMachines, Corporation in the United States and other countries; Windowsis a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United Statesand other countries) The one or more program components 170 may be aprogram product that can be separately purchased, a secondary subsystemof the target mainframe system 140, etc.

The file system 160 includes process definition files 165 and systeminterface files 166. The process definition files 165 define respectivesystem administration task processes for the target mainframe system 140that will be performed by use of the process manager 153 of theoperating system 150. The system interface files 166 respectively setinput or output files for specific system administration task processesas defined by the administration tool 130 and the target systeminterface 132.

The user interface 120 and the administration tool 130 may run on thetarget mainframe system 140 or on a combination of respective computersystems separate from the target mainframe system 140. In one embodimentof the present invention, the user interface 120 runs on a user computersystem, the administration tool 130 runs on an administrator computersystem, in managing the target mainframe system 140. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, both the user interface 120 and theadministration tool 130 run on the target mainframe system 140 alongwith other programs. In still another embodiment of the presentinvention, the user interface 120 runs on a user computer system, andthe administration tool 130 runs on the target mainframe system 140 asthe administration tool 130 is a part of the operating system 150 of thetarget mainframe system 140.

FIG. 2 depicts a system diagram for a z/OS system administrationenvironment 200 for a z/OS mainframe 230, in accordance with one or moreembodiments set forth herein.

The z/OS system administration environment 200 for the z/OS mainframe230 includes a system administrator 210, a workstation 220, and the z/OSmainframe 230. The system administrator 210 performs systemadministration tasks of installation, configuration, and migration forthe z/OS mainframe 230 by use of the workstation 220 that runs a z/OSManagement Facility (z/OSMF) user interface web browser plug-in 222. Theworkstation 220 is any kind of computer system that has processing unitand storage to run the z/OSMF UI web browser plug-in 222. The systemadministrator 210 has a proper authentication to alter system parametersand configurations and to read/write system files of the z/OS mainframe230 via the z/OSMF user interface web browser plug-in 222 that interactswith z/OSMF 232 of the z/OS mainframe 230. The z/OSMF user interface webbrowser plug-in 222 is an example of the user interface 120 of FIG. 1.

The z/OS mainframe 230 is an example of the target mainframe system 140in FIG. 1. The z/OS mainframe 230 indicates an IBM z™ family mainframecomputer that is also referred to as z Systems™ or System z®. (IBM andSystem z are registered trademarks of International Business Machines,Corporation in the United States and other countries; z Systems is atrademark of International Business Machines, Corporation in the UnitedStates and other countries)

The z/OS mainframe 230 includes a Web Sphere® Application Server (WAS)original equipment manufacturer (OEM) 231, the z/OS Management Facility(z/OSMF) 232, a version of z/OS operating system referred to as MVS™(BCP) 250, a UNIX® file system 260, and one or more registered product270. (UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and othercountries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.; Web Sphereis a registered trademark of, and MVS is a trademark of InternationalBusiness Machines, Corporation in the United States and other countries)

The WASOEM 231 is an example of the administration tool 130 and the userinterface interpreter 131 of FIG. 1, the z/OSMF 232 is an example of theadministration tool 130 and the target system interface 132 of FIG. 1,the MVS (BCP) is an example of the operating system 150 of FIG. 1, andthe UNIX file system 260 is an example of the file system 160 of FIG. 1.

The WASOEM 231 indicates the IBM Web Sphere Application Server OEMEdition for z/OS configuration script, WASOEM.sh, which facilitatescommunication between the z/OSMF user interface web browser plug-in 222and the z/OSMF 232. TOMCAT® may be another example of the user interfaceinterpreter 131 of FIG. 1 for several proprietary softwareimplementation. (TOMCAT is a registered trademark of the Apache SoftwareFoundation in the United States)

The z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF) 232 includes a Workflows task 233.The z/OSMF 232 provides a framework for managing various aspects of thez/OS mainframe 230 through a web browser interface, shown as z/OSMF userinterface web browser plug-in 222. By streamlining and/or automatingsystem administration tasks by use of a task-oriented approach, thez/OSMF 232 may simplify some areas of system management and reduce thelevel of expertise needed for managing the z/OS mainframe 230. Thez/OSMF 232 is intended to serve as a single platform for hosting theweb-based administrative console functions of IBM server, software, andstorage products. The z/OSMF 232 facilitates system administrators andsystem programmers to easily manage the day-to-day operations andadministration of the z/OS mainframe 230 by use of the task-oriented andweb-browser based user interface with integrated user assistance. Thez/OSMF 232 provides a single point of control for performing commonsystem administration tasks referred to as workflows.

In this specification, the term “workflow” refers to an activity that isassociated with the z/OSMF 232 such as configuring a component orproduct. The term “workflow” may further refer to the instantiation of aworkflow in the z/OSMF 232 based on a workflow definition. The Workflowstask 233 creates an instance of a workflow from a workflow definitionfile 262 from the UNIX file system 260. The workflow consists of one ormore steps to be performed on z/OS mainframe 230, according to theworkflow definition provided in the workflow definition file 262. Theworkflow definition file 262 may be an example of the process definitionfile 165 of FIG. 1.

Generally in the z/OS mainframe 230 context, the workflow definitionfile 262 is a primary extensible markup language (XML) file for aworkflow definition. A workflow is stored in z/OSMF 232 when theworkflow definition file 262 is imported into the Workflows task 233. Aworkflow definition stored in the workflow definition file 262 is alogical structure of the workflow, represented as a series of one ormore steps. The workflow definition identifies various system objectsand actions that constitute activities on z/OS mainframe 230 and rulesfor performing such activities. The workflow definition includes all ofthe information that is specified in, or referenced by, the workflowdefinition file 262 and possibly other files that are included by theworkflow definition file 262. The workflow definition typically includesinformation about the workflow such as name and version, stepdefinitions, variable definitions, file templates, and bundle files.

Upon importing the workflow definition file 262, the Workflows task 233may also import a workflow variable input file that supplies defaultvalues for that one or more workflow input variable 264 as defined inthe workflow definition file 262. The workflow variable input file isspecified as an input when the workflow definition is imported into theWorkflows task 233. The workflow variable input file is typicallyprovided by a workflow provider to save users from having to manuallyenter inputs when they perform a workflow. By limiting user interaction,the workflow variable input file simplify the user experience ofperforming a workflow and reduce the opportunities for user error.

The UNIX file system 260 also includes an output file 263 that iscreated by a step in the workflow, and stores results of running aprogram such as a batch job, shell script, or Restructured ExtendedExecutor programming language (REXX) exec program. The term “step”refers to a logical unit of work in the workflow that describes aspecific activity to be performed on the z/OS mainframe 230. The outputfile 263 has one or more workflow input variable 264, of which valuesare set when the output file 263 is written to the UNIX file system 260.The output file 263 may be an example of the system interface file 166of FIG. 1. When the step generating the output file 263 completes, theWorkflows task 233 processes the output file 263 and makes any workflowinput variables 264 in the output file 263 available for use bysubsequent steps in the workflow instance or other workflows.

The MVS (BCP) 250 includes a Job Entry Subsystem/System Display andSearch Facility (JES/SDSF) 251 and a parameter library (PARMLIB) 252,which are respective examples of the process manager 153 of FIG. 1 andthe program component catalog 154 of FIG. 1, respectively.

The JES/SDSF 251 manages execution of jobs, including the workflow andsteps by spooling, job queuing, and managing input and output (I/O)within the MVS (BCP) 250. The Job Entry Subsystem (JES) of the JES/SDSF251 is a subsystem of the z/OS operating system, shown as MVS (BCS) 250,that receives jobs into the z/OS operating system, converts the jobs tointernal format, selects the jobs in internal format for execution,processes respective outputs of the executed jobs, and purges theexecuted jobs and data from the z/OS operating system. In complexes thathave several loosely-coupled processing units, a more advanced JESprogram manages processors such that a global processor exercisescentralized control over local processors and distributes jobs to thelocal processors via a common job queue.

The System Display and Search Facility (SDSF) of the JES/SDSF 251facilitate reviewing outputs of jobs submitted for execution, reviewingand correcting of Job Control Language (JCL) errors. By use of the SDSF,the system administrator 210 can display printed output held in the JESspool area and determine whether or not to keep the output for lateruse.

The parameter library (PARMLIB) 252, also referred to a program libraryin the MVS (BCP) 250, is a special catalog file of system settings forsecondary subsystems of the z/OS mainframe 230. The PARMLIB 252 is apartitioned data set (PDS) having members respectively contain aprogram, part of a program, or data. A registered product 270, alongwith the Enabled/Disabled state of the registered product 270, isrepresented as a member in the PARMLIB 252, as shown by the arrows fromthe registered product 270 to the PARMLIB 252. The registered product270 is an example of the program components 170 of FIG. 1.

In this specification, terms in the context of IBM z/OS “feature”,“priced feature”, “registered products”, and “licensed program” are usedinterchangeably to indicate a product or an element of a product thatmay be separately ordered and purchased from available products providedby IBM, as used for the registered product 270. More specifically, aterm “licensed program” indicates a software package that can be orderedfrom the program libraries, such as IBM Software Distribution (ISMD).Examples of licensed program may be, Information Management System (IMS)and Customer Information Control System (CICS). A registeredproduct/licensed program are typically subsystems that are secondary orsubordinate system to a primary/controlling system, providingprogramming support and usually capable of operating independently of orasynchronously with the controlling system.

FIG. 3 depicts a result of a system command “D PROD” as provided by thez/OS mainframe 230, in accordance with one or more embodiments set forthherein.

In line L101, the system administrator enters an MVS (BCP) systemcommand DISPLAY (D), requesting to display information about registeredproducts and the product enablement policy, in an administration consoleof the z/OS mainframe 230. In “D PROD, STATE”, “D” is the MVS (BCP)system command DISPLAY, “PROD” indicates that the DISPLAY command isdirected to information about registered products or the productenablement policy, and “STATE” indicates that the DISPLAY command isdirected to information about the enablement state, defined in theenablement policy, for any matching products.

Lines L102 through L114 are result of the “D PROD, STATE” command issuedto the z/OS in line L101.

In line L102, the MVS (BCP) prints heading for the columns in the resultof lines L103 through L 114, including “S” indicating STATE, “NAME”indicating NAME, and “FEATURE” indicating FEATURENAME according to DPROD command syntax. The listing of FIG. 3 shows only the columns from DPROD command result that are relevant to the embodiments of the presentinvention, as indicated by ellipses ( . . . ).

“S” column holds a current enablement state value of a product on thesystem in each line, in lines L103 through L114. A STATE value “E”indicates that the product shown in the same line is enabled, and aSTATE value “D” indicates that the product shown in the same line isdisabled.

“NAME” column has names of the product sets installed in the targetmainframe. A NAME value “z/OS” of lines L103 through L113 indicates thatthe product is the z/OS product set consisting of all z/OS elements andfeatures and other products that is necessary for the z/OS product setor selectively installed with the z/OS product set. A NAME value“GDDM-PGF” of line L114 indicates that the product name is GraphicalData Display Manager (GDDM) Presentation Graphics Facility (PGF).

“FEATURE” column has names of elementary feature of respectivelycorresponding product sets, which is installed in the target mainframe.Lines L103 through L113 represents various features of the z/OS productset, z/OS operating system feature “z/OS” of line L103, Bulk DataTransfer (BDT) File-to-File feature “BDTFTF” of line L104, Bulk DataTransfer (BDT) Job Entry Subsystem 3 (JES3) Systems NetworkArchitecture/Network Job Entry (SNA/NJE) feature “BDTNJE” of line L105,BookManager® BUILD feature “BOOKMGR BUILD” of line L106, C/C++programming language feature “C/C++” of line L107, Graphical DataDisplay Manager (GDDM)-Restructured Extended Executor (REXX) feature“GDDM-REXX” of line L108, Hardware Configuration Manager (HCM) feature“HCM” of line L109, information display service feature “INFOPRINTSERVER” of line L110, Job Entry Subsystem 3 feature “JES3” of line L111,Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP)Customer Information Control System (CICS) feature “TCP/IP CICS” of lineL112, and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol(IP) Information Management System (IMS) feature “TCP/IP IMS” of lineL113, are all enabled. (BookManager is a registered trademark ofInternational Business Machines, Corporation in the United States andother countries) GDDM-PGF feature of GDDM-PGF product presented in lineL114 is disabled. As shown in FIG. 3, a name of a product may or may notbe identical to a name of a feature, as some product may have multiplefeatures and some product has only one feature.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart performed by the Workflows Task 233 of FIG. 2for managing workflow input variables for efficient systemadministration, in accordance with one or more embodiments set forthherein.

Prior to block 310, the workflow definition file had been generated inthe file system by a system programmer or provided by a product/softwarepackage vendor, and made available for the system administrator tocreate a z/OSMF workflow according to the workflow definition file. Inone embodiment of the present invention, variables in the workflowdefinition file are defined to respectively represent enablement stateof a priced feature installed in the z/OS mainframe 230 such asJES3_state, by use of a respective name of the priced feature followedby “_state”, to hold an enablement state value of “Enabled (E)” or“Disabled (D)” corresponding to the priced feature. The variables in theworkflow definition file are workflow input variables that would be usedas inputs for later steps and/or workflows. In the same embodiment, theworkflow definition file is written in eXtensive Markup Language (XML)by a workflow author by use of an authoring tool running from a userworkstation via the z/OSMF user interface web browser plug-in.

In block 310, the Workflows task of the z/OSMF creates a workflow in thez/OSMF by importing the workflow definition file prepared as describedabove. Then the Workflows task proceeds with block 320. The workflow hasone or more units of work to be performed on the z/OS system, which isreferred to as a Step. Each step in the workflow describes a specificactivity to be performed on the system, and may be implemented as aseparate program module.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the workflow includes a Step0 at the beginning of the workflow, to check enablement state of allselective program components installed in the z/OS mainframe. As notedin the description of FIG. 2, terms “feature”, “priced feature”,“registered products”, and “licensed program” in the IBM z/OS contextare used interchangeably to indicate the selective program components.Workflows based on workflow definition files provided by softwarevendors/product manufacturers typically have a few hundred steps tocover all possible selective program components that may be installed inthe z/OS mainframe. Accordingly, a system administrator need to inputenablement state values respective to each selective program componentsthat appear in such lengthy workflows based on vendor-provided workflowdefinition files, in order to properly configure the z/OS mainframe.Manually inputting the enablement state values for each selectiveprogram components, either Enabled (E) or Disabled (D), takes the systemadministrator hours to complete, and the enablement state values need tobe input to the z/OSMF for each system administration task that requiresinformation on enablement state values of the selective programcomponents. To improve system administration efficiency, the z/OSMFoffers a workflow input variable file, which includes workflow inputvariables and respective values that may be automatically input to aworkflow having a variable corresponding to any of the workflow inputvariables.

In block 320, the Workflows task runs Step 0 of the workflow createdfrom block 310. Step 0 is referred to as “Discovery Step 0” because thestep 0 discovers whether each selective program component installed inthe z/OS mainframe is enabled or disabled by checking respectiveenablement state values of the selective program components. DiscoveryStep 0 further makes the enablement state value per selective programcomponent resulting from the step 0 available by writing it into anoutput file of the workflow. See FIG. 5 and corresponding descriptionfor details of Discovery Step 0. Then the Workflows task proceeds withblock 320.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the system administratorclicks Step 0 of the workflow in the Workflows task via the z/OSMF userinterface web browser plug-in to commence running of Step 0, whichappears as in a state “Ready” indicating that Step 0 may be run. Step 0is a mandatory step that the customer must complete before they cancomplete any steps related to the Priced Features. Because Step 0 is todiscover enablement state values of respective selective programcomponents as noted, Step 0 must be performed prior to performingsubsequent steps relevant to the selective program components in theworkflow. Prior to running Step 0, all of the subsequent steps are in astate “Not Ready” indicating that the subsequent steps may not be run.When Step 0 is completed and the enablement state values of respectiveselective program components are provided, the subsequent steps statemay change to “Ready” if the subsequent steps are otherwise ready.

In block 330, the Workflows task adds workflow input variablesrepresented respective registered products having enablement state valueof Disabled (D) as stored in the output file resulting from block 320 toa global variables pool, which makes the workflow input variablesrepresenting registered products that are disabled globally available toany subsequent steps in the workflow as well as other workflows havingthe same workflow input variables. Then the Workflows task completesprocessing.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the Discovery Step 0 isadded to all workflows checking product components, selective ormandatory, hardware or software. If a product component is found to bedisabled, subsequent steps related to the disabled product component maybe automatically omitted, resulting in a significantly less number ofsteps in a workflow that the system administrator needs to completewhile running the workflow. Further, the workflow may be completed moreaccurately as input errors caused by manual input can be removed inrunning the workflow.

In another embodiment of the present invention, all workflows of thez/OSMF are created according to a respective workflow definition thatincludes variables to be generated by a program of Step 0, conditionsmarked by <expression>, <targetStateSet>, and <stateExpression> tagssuch that the workflows are enabled to set each step of the workflows aseither “Ready”, when all relevant variables have “Enabled (E)” values,or “Skipped”, when any relevant variable has a “Disabled (D)” value.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of block 320, Discovery Step 0, of theWorkflows Task of FIG. 4, in accordance with one or more embodiments setforth herein.

In one embodiment of the present invention, Discovery Step 0 of block320 in FIG. 4 is implemented as a Restructured Extended Executor (REXX)exec, which is a script in the REXX programming language. When thesystem administrator clicks Step 0, a job that runs the REXX execlocated on the z/OS mainframe is submitted to and executed by the MVS(BCP), by use of the job entry and monitoring subsystems (JES/SDSF, 251of FIG. 2) and the parameter library (PARMLIB, 252 of FIG. 2).

Prior to block 3201, the REXX exec starts a RUN_CHECK routine toascertain if the system environment is proper for running the REXX exec.Details of REXX exec running environment is not provided in thisspecification as not being relevant to the embodiments of the presentinvention.

In block 3201, the REXX exec issues “D PROD, STATE” command to find outenablement state values for all “registered products” installed in thez/OS mainframe. The “D PROD, STATE” command is issued to an extendedmultiple console support (EMCS) console of the JES, which is a programthat acts as a console such that a MVS system command “D PROD, STATE”may be issued to the EMCS console by the REXX exec and a response to theissued command may be received by the REXX exec that issued the “D PROD,STATE” command. See FIG. 3 and corresponding description for details of“D PROD, STATE” command and the response. As a result, the REXX execreceives the enablement state values, Enabled (E) or Disabled (D),corresponding to all registered products installed in the z/OSmainframe. For example, there are more than fifty (50) base elements andoptional features, collectively referred to as registered products, inthe z/OS product set of z/OS 2.1. Then the REXX exec proceeds with block3202.

In block 3202, the REXX exec loads a list of registered productsinstalled in the z/OS mainframe and respectively correspondingenablement state values as returned from block 3201 to a stem variablex1. Stem is a type of compound variable supported by REXX, whichfunctions like an array. Then the REXX exec proceeds with block 3203.

In block 3203, the REXX exec parses the list loaded in the stem variablex1 from block 3202. For each registered product of stem variable x1, theREXX exec performs blocks 3204 and 3205. When all registered products ofstem variable x1 are processed the REXX exec proceeds with block 3206.

In block 3204, the REXX exec determines if an enablement state value fora current registered product of stem variable x1 is Enabled (E). If theREXX exec determines that the enablement state value for the currentregistered product of stem variable x1 is Enabled (E), then the REXXexec repeats block 3204 for a next registered product of stem variablex1. If the REXX exec determines that the enablement state value for thecurrent registered product of stem variable x1 is Disabled (D), then theREXX exec proceeds with block 3205.

In block 3205, the REXX exec records the current registered product ofstem variable x1 in stem variable x2, which stores a list of registeredproducts of which respective enablement state value is Disabled (D).Then the REXX exec loops back to block 3204.

In block 3206, the REXX exec writes data in stem variable x2, fordisabled products, to a persistent file by use of “$_output” expressionin the z/OSMF. In z/OSMF, “$_output” corresponds to a file pathspecified by the <output> tags in the workflow definition, dictating thename and location of the output file. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the workflow definition file specifies $_output as:

<output>/tmp/var_inputfile.txt</output>

for/tmp/directory is present in most of file systems. Then the REXX execimplementing Discovery Step 0 terminates and the Workflow task continuesprocessing in block 330 of FIG. 4.

Certain embodiments of the present invention may offer various technicalcomputing advantages, including automating system administration tasksin mainframe computing environments and substituting manual operationsto perform enablement state check of all components installed in amainframe computer with automated skipping of disabled components inworkflows. Certain embodiments of the present invention implementautomated maintenance of enablement state values corresponding torespective components to be repeatedly used in subsequent systemadministration tasks, and improves accuracy of system administrationtasks by automatic enablement state value check and instantiation ofinput variables by use of embedded system interface functionalities, andconsequently improve productivity of the mainframe computers that wouldhave been held up by the inefficient systems administration tasks forinstallation, configuration and migration of such mainframe computers.

Certain embodiments of the present invention enables establishing areusable system program element in a specific mainframe computingenvironment that may be employed in numerous other system administrationtasks. Accordingly, the same embodiments of the present invention offerways to perform numbers system administration tasks in configuration,installation and migration of the mainframe computers in atime-efficient and less error-prone manner by employing the reusablesystem program element without spending hours to interactively reproducethe result created by the reusable system program. Further, certainembodiments of the present invention may improve efficiency andconvenience of system administration by utilizing an existing interfacefor management in the mainframe computing environment, and consequentlyimprovement in mainframe productivity and system administrator workefficiency would be substantial in intensive computing environments withmultiple mainframes such as server farms, data centers, etc.

FIGS. 6-8 depict various aspects of computing, including a computersystem and cloud computing, in accordance with one or more aspects setforth herein.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a schematic of an example of a computersystem/cloud computing node is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is onlyone example of a suitable cloud computing node and is not intended tosuggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality ofembodiments of the invention described herein. Regardless, cloudcomputing node 10 is capable of being implemented and/or performing anyof the functionality set forth hereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system 12, which isoperational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system 12 include, but are not limitedto, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients,thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computersystems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include anyof the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system 12 may be described in the general context of computersystem-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executedby a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Computer system 12 may be practiced in distributed cloud computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloudcomputing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.

As shown in FIG. 6, computer system 12 in cloud computing node 10 isshown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The componentsof computer system 12 may include, but are not limited to, one or moreprocessors or processing units 16, a system memory 28, and a bus 18 thatcouples various system components including system memory 28 toprocessor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system 12 typically includes a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby computer system 12, and it includes both volatile and non-volatilemedia, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

One or more program 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules42, may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of z/OSMF 232 ofFIG. 2. Program modules 42, as in the Workflows task 233 of FIG. 2 andDiscovery Step 0 of FIG. 5, generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enablecomputer system 12 to communicate with one or more other computingdevices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces22. Still yet, computer system 12 can communicate with one or morenetworks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network(WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system 12 via bus 18. It should be understoodthat although not shown, other hardware and/or software components couldbe used in conjunction with computer system 12. Examples, include, butare not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processingunits, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and dataarchival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 7, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 7 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 8, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 7) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 8 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and processing components for an automatedsystem administration for mainframe computers 96, as described herein.The processing components 96 can be understood as one or more program 40described in FIG. 6.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprise” (and any form ofcomprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form ofhave, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include,such as “includes” and “including”), and “contain” (and any form ofcontain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linkingverbs. As a result, a method or device that “comprises,” “has,”“includes,” or “contains” one or more steps or elements possesses thoseone or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing onlythose one or more steps or elements. Likewise, a step of a method or anelement of a device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains”one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is notlimited to possessing only those one or more features. Furthermore, adevice or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured inat least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are notlisted.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below, if any, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description set forth herein has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of one or more aspects set forth herein and the practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand one or more aspects as described herein for variousembodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particularuse contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method for automating enablement state inputs to workflows, comprising: automatically discovering, by one or more processor of a computer, respective values for one or more enablement state variable respectively corresponding to one or more product installed in the computer, wherein a value of a enablement state variable from the one or more enablement state variable indicates whether a product corresponding to the enablement state variable is enabled in the computer; loading, by the one or more processor, the one or more enablement state variable and the discovered respective values of the one or more enablement state variable to a first list; parsing, by the one or more processor, the loaded first list for each of the one or more enablement state variable and the discovered respective values; recording, by the one or more processor, to a second list, a first enablement state variable and a value corresponding to the first enablement state variable in the first list based on ascertaining that a first product corresponding to the first enablement state variable is disabled in the computer; and writing, by the one or more processor, the second list to an output file such that respective enablement state corresponding to one or more disabled product represented in the output file may be automatically provided to subsequent system administration jobs by user of respective enablement state variable corresponding to the one or more disabled product.
 2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: creating, by the one or more processor, a workflow comprising a step invoking the automatically discovering based on a workflow definition stored in a workflow definition file, the workflow definition comprising the one or more enablement state variable specified as respective workflow input variable, wherein a workflow input variable is configured to be automatically instantiated by an administration tool running on the computer, the workflow definition further comprising a path of the output file within a filesystem of the computer.
 3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the workflow definition further comprises conditions that sets a step of the workflow as either Ready upon ascertaining that all enablement state variable required for the step have Enabled value or Skipped upon ascertaining that any enablement state variable required for the step has Disabled value.
 4. The computer implemented method of claim 3, wherein the workflow definition file is written in extensive markup language (XML), and wherein the conditions in the workflow definition utilizes <expression>, <targetStateSet>, and <stateExpression> tags.
 5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the automatically discovering, the loading, the parsing, the recording and the writing are instructions in a script in Restructured Extended Executor (REXX) programming language, wherein the computer is an IBM z Systems mainframe computer running z/OS operating system, and wherein the administration tool is z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF).
 6. The computer implemented method of claim 5, the automatically discovering comprising issuing a system command “D PROD, STATE” to an extended multiple console support (MCS) console subroutine of the z/OS such that a response to the system command may be loaded to the first list, wherein “D” indicates the system command is to display information, “PROD” indicates that the system command is directed to information about registered products, and “STATE” indicates that the system command is directed to information about the enablement state for any matching products.
 7. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein the first list and the second list are respective stem variables of REXX facilitating a data structure similar to an array.
 8. A computer program product comprising: a computer readable storage medium readable by one or more processor and storing instructions for execution by the one or more processor for performing a method for automating enablement state inputs to workflows, comprising: automatically discovering, by the one or more processor, respective values for one or more enablement state variable respectively corresponding to one or more product installed in a computer, wherein a value of a enablement state variable from the one or more enablement state variable indicates whether a product corresponding to the enablement state variable is enabled in the computer; loading, by the one or more processor, the one or more enablement state variable and the discovered respective values of the one or more enablement state variable to a first list; parsing, by the one or more processor, the loaded first list for each of the one or more enablement state variable and the discovered respective values; recording, by the one or more processor, to a second list, a first enablement state variable and a value corresponding to the first enablement state variable in the first list based on ascertaining that a first product corresponding to the first enablement state variable is disabled in the computer; and writing, by the one or more processor, the second list to an output file such that respective enablement state corresponding to one or more disabled product represented in the output file may be automatically provided to subsequent system administration jobs by user of respective enablement state variable corresponding to the one or more disabled product.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising: creating, by the one or more processor, a workflow comprising a step invoking the automatically discovering based on a workflow definition stored in a workflow definition file, the workflow definition comprising the one or more enablement state variable specified as respective workflow input variable, wherein a workflow input variable is configured to be automatically instantiated by an administration tool running on the computer, the workflow definition further comprising a path of the output file within a filesystem of the computer.
 10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the workflow definition further comprises conditions that sets a step of the workflow as either Ready upon ascertaining that all enablement state variable required for the step have Enabled value or Skipped upon ascertaining that any enablement state variable required for the step has Disabled value.
 11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the workflow definition file is written in extensive markup language (XML), and wherein the conditions in the workflow definition utilizes <expression>, <targetStateSet>, and <stateExpression> tags.
 12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the automatically discovering, the loading, the parsing, the recording and the writing are instructions in a script in Restructured Extended Executor (REXX) programming language, wherein the computer is an IBM z Systems mainframe computer running z/OS operating system, and wherein the administration tool is z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF).
 13. The computer program product of claim 12, the automatically discovering comprising issuing a system command “D PROD, STATE” to an extended multiple console support (MCS) console subroutine of the z/OS such that a response to the system command may be loaded to the first list, wherein “D” indicates the system command is to display information, “PROD” indicates that the system command is directed to information about registered products, and “STATE” indicates that the system command is directed to information about the enablement state for any matching products, and wherein the first list and the second list are respective stem variables of REXX.
 14. A system comprising: a memory; one or more processor in communication with memory; and program instructions executable by the one or more processor via the memory to perform a method for automating enablement state inputs to workflows, comprising: automatically discovering, by the one or more processor, respective values for one or more enablement state variable respectively corresponding to one or more product installed in a computer, wherein a value of a enablement state variable from the one or more enablement state variable indicates whether a product corresponding to the enablement state variable is enabled in the computer; loading, by the one or more processor, the one or more enablement state variable and the discovered respective values of the one or more enablement state variable to a first list; parsing, by the one or more processor, the loaded first list for each of the one or more enablement state variable and the discovered respective values; recording, by the one or more processor, to a second list, a first enablement state variable and a value corresponding to the first enablement state variable in the first list based on ascertaining that a first product corresponding to the first enablement state variable is disabled in the computer; and writing, by the one or more processor, the second list to an output file such that respective enablement state corresponding to one or more disabled product represented in the output file may be automatically provided to subsequent system administration jobs by user of respective enablement state variable corresponding to the one or more disabled product.
 15. The system of claim 14, further comprising: creating, by the one or more processor, a workflow comprising a step invoking the automatically discovering based on a workflow definition stored in a workflow definition file, the workflow definition comprising the one or more enablement state variable specified as respective workflow input variable, wherein a workflow input variable is configured to be automatically instantiated by an administration tool running on the computer, the workflow definition further comprising a path of the output file within a filesystem of the computer.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the workflow definition further comprises conditions that sets a step of the workflow as either Ready upon ascertaining that all enablement state variable required for the step have Enabled value or Skipped upon ascertaining that any enablement state variable required for the step has Disabled value.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the workflow definition file is written in extensive markup language (XML), and wherein the conditions in the workflow definition utilizes <expression>, <targetStateSet>, and <stateExpression> tags.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the automatically discovering, the loading, the parsing, the recording and the writing are instructions in a script in Restructured Extended Executor (REXX) programming language, wherein the computer is an IBM z Systems mainframe computer running z/OS operating system, and wherein the administration tool is z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF).
 19. The system of claim 18, the automatically discovering comprising issuing a system command “D PROD, STATE” to an extended multiple console support (MCS) console subroutine of the z/OS such that a response to the system command may be loaded to the first list, wherein “D” indicates the system command is to display information, “PROD” indicates that the system command is directed to information about registered products, and “STATE” indicates that the system command is directed to information about the enablement state for any matching products, and wherein the first list and the second list are respective stem variables of REXX. 